Trial (1)
Trial (1)
Dojin swings his sword down. His movements are excessively light. The shadow monster blocking his path is bisected clean in half.
His sword, having split the monster, is instantly recovered and shot toward another monster. Eunha and Raize didn't even have a chance to act.
Flames wrapped around the sword scatter this way and that, and a fire demon descends within the dungeon.
'...His movements have gotten even better.'
Orion, watching Dojin from behind, realized his movements were noticeably lighter compared to before.
A swordsman's body becoming lighter meant he had gotten that much faster. Orion approached Dojin after the hunt was over and gave a light smile.
"Has something good happened? Your body feels light."
"Hm? Oh, it's nothing much. Just... I figured it's about time we faced each other."
"Uh, um... That's great."
Orion didn't understand what that meant. But she pretended to. She put on an act to win his favor.
Perhaps thanks to her elven looks, it wasn't hard to gain a man's favor. Smiling often and initiating conversation was enough.
Sometimes they talked, sometimes they hunted monsters.
They progressed through the dungeon like that. And finally, they reached the threshold of the 30th Floor.
Gulp, Orion swallowed hard as she stared at the stairs leading up to the 30th Floor. Even across all races, not many had crossed those stairs.
Even among the Great Forest Rangers, only the elite of the elite—a tiny handful—had surpassed this floor.
Just crossing this floor would elevate her to Level 3, the realm of the strong. The team leaders and squad captains of Ranger teams had reached that level.
In other words, she too could become a squad captain-level powerhouse.
'If only I could climb one rank higher.'
Reaching Level 4, the master's realm, was possible only for a handful of true geniuses. Even in the Great Forest, only a rare few had crossed that wall.
"Should we go up... or not...."
At that threshold, Dojin stopped and began to ponder. From experience, every five floors, the monsters seemed to level up a notch.
And for the 30th Floor, rumor had it that the Dungeon Ruler resided there.
They'd consumed quite a bit of stamina getting here, so going in could be risky.
Dojin turned to his companions and asked.
"What do you think?"
"We have to go in, obviously!"
Orion shouted. Turn back after coming this far? She admitted it was dangerous not knowing what monsters might appear.
But adventure was inherently risky, and adventurers were those who pushed forward through danger.
Avoiding risk meant no growth.
"What about the others?"
"I'll go with the majority..."
"My magic power is almost depleted... If we go up now, we might not have enough to get back."
"See?"
One against, one for, one abstaining.
Orion gritted her teeth. Did they really have to turn back like this? No way. She gazed at Dojin with wistful eyes. Praying he'd choose to go up.
Perhaps her prayer worked, as Dojin slowly drew his sword.
"We'll just check the 30th Floor's level and head straight back."
"—Yes!"
She cheered loudly and took the lead. There'd never been traps on the stairs before, but preparing for potential dangers was the scout's role.
The moment she stepped onto the 30th Floor after climbing the stairs, she felt something shift. Like a long-blocked window suddenly flinging open.
She sensed her soul's vessel expanding, while staying alert to her surroundings. Great Forest Rangers never lowered their guard, no matter the situation.
Her ears perked continuously, detecting danger. No matter how dungeon-born the monsters, they had life signs.
They breathed, their hearts beat, blood flowed.
Her ears missed not even the faintest sounds.
"Ceiling!"
"Gruk!"
A monster crawling along the ceiling in the darkness plummets down abruptly. Before it hits the ground, she fires three arrows.
The arrows bounce off the monster's hide. Even arrows fired point-blank now get deflected—Orion sighed and quickly retreated.
In her place, Dojin stepped forward. He smiled at the monster before him.
A beastman fully covered in fur, commonly called a werewolf.
"It's a werewolf!"
"And you're a human!"
It talks? Dojin was slightly flustered and swung his sword on instinct. His familiar swordsmanship naturally targeted the werewolf's vitals.
However, the werewolf with hide that deflected arrows didn't even think of dodging the sword and swung its hand straight at it.
Claws sharp enough to slice rock came rushing in. Dojin's sword clashed with the claws, sparking as it flew far off.
Dojin lightly smiled at the werewolf that had knocked away his sword. Memories of his fight with Sa-young flashed back.
Snake Sword.
Shadow Slash.
The serpent beastman secret technique is recreated in Dojin's hands. Whoosh, the flying sword bends like a snake, aiming for the werewolf's temple.
"Kugh!?"
Dojin's sword couldn't slice the werewolf. It was tougher than expected. Especially the skull, the body's sturdiest part.
But he'd already bought enough time.
"Raize!"
"Piercing lightning!"
Intense lightning shoots from Raize's staff. Even a werewolf with tough hide and rock-slicing claws couldn't dodge the lightning.
Zzzzzzt, electrocuted by the overcurrent, the werewolf stops moving. Its fur burns black all over, and the smell of roasting meat spreads wide.
Yet the werewolf didn't die.
'This guy's impressive.'
Dojin swings his sword at the werewolf's neck as it wheezes and struggles to move. Weakened by lightning, its neck couldn't block the sword.
Spurt—!
A fountain of blood gushes out. Dojin looked at the werewolf in surprise. Monsters traditionally vanished into magic stones upon death, leaving no corpse.
But this werewolf spewed a blood fountain. That meant one of two things: its neck was severed but it wasn't dead, or it wasn't an ordinary monster.
Fortunately, his worries were unfounded—the werewolf, spurting blood, soon turned into a magic stone and vanished. But the sticky blood already clinging to his body didn't.
"Ugh... What the hell is this."
Dojin grumbled at the thick blood and shook it off. But the blood stuck to his clothes and skin wouldn't come off easily.
'Gotta be careful slicing necks next time.'
As he pondered improvements and picked up the magic stone, Orion's ears perked up and she whipped her head around wildly in all directions.
"Uh... Leader? I think we need to run..."
"Why?"
"Monsters everywhere..."
"What?"
Dojin, hearing that, went on alert too. Beyond the dark curtain where nothing should be visible, beastly eyes seemed to glimmer.
But fortunately.
"Run."
The stairs were right behind them. Dojin's group turned and fled down the stairs.
Dojin didn't know.
What it meant for one floor's Ruler to enter another Ruler's domain.
—It's been a very, very long time.
A house-sized beast opens its eyes. Like the 10th Floor's Ruler, the massive bipedal wolf made in the image of that floor's monsters rises.
It rises and first grasps the situation. Why had it awakened? Its transcendent senses surveyed the surroundings.
No challengers. Then? ...A Ruler. Another floor's Ruler had invaded its domain.
The sacred ones who built this tower never wanted one Ruler dominating all floors.
To prepare for such cases, they made Rulers hostile to each other... which was also why he, meant to sleep eternally awaiting challengers, had awakened.
—Can't let it escape.
And the freshly awakened Ruler didn't want Dojin escaping its domain and letting it fall asleep again.
It wanted to stay awake forever. Not an easy task. But first, it had to keep Dojin from leaving the domain.
That was simple.
From time immemorial, floors 11 to 30. For him, the Ruler of the floors leading to the master's domain—the path of mastery—altering the domain's layout was child's play.
Unlike Dojin, who gained dominion after defeating a Ruler, he was born a Ruler.
He stretches out his hand. Far off, he sees Dojin fleeing. Killing him would be easy. But he doesn't.
Creak, he grabs space. And lightly twists it.
Before a Ruler wielding the 4th dimension, fleeing through the 3rd was impossible.
Boom—!
The dungeon rumbled. Dojin tilted his head and scanned the surroundings.
"...What's going on all of a sudden?"
"No idea, this is my first time experiencing something like this..."
Orion frowned at the continuous rumbling noise. It was deafening her hearing.
Unable to help it, she plugged her ears and asked forgiveness.
"My ears because of the noise..."
"Got it, I'll handle the lookout. Plug your ears for now."
"Yes, thank you."
While she put in her earplugs, Dojin kept watch and moved forward.
The vibrations and noise were intensifying. This was rare. Something was definitely happening inside the dungeon.
After walking a good while, Dojin sensed something off.
'The path feels different from the way we came....'
He thought it impossible, but his instincts buzzed. Even shrouded in dark curtains on all sides, his sense of direction and perception detected the change.
Dojin opened his map and headed toward the nearest wall. But no matter how far he walked, no wall appeared.
That meant one thing. They were lost.
'No way, even following the exact path we took....'
It was his first time on this floor today, but he'd entered and exited the dungeon hundreds of times. He wouldn't make such a rookie mistake.
Finally, Dojin stopped in place and turned to his companions.
"Leader? Why'd you stop suddenly?"
"...We're lost."
"Huh?"
"I said we're lost."
Orion, ears plugged, heard late and gasped in shock. Then she closed her eyes and recalled their path.
"...No way."
No way. Dojin handed her the map, saying if she didn't believe him, she should lead.
Comparing her mental map of their position with the map, she bolted forward.
And hit a wall after just a few meters.
There was no wall on the map.
"No, what the...!"
Every direction she tried, a wall appeared the same.
Only then could she admit it.
We were lost.
In the dungeon, no less.